


Alone, Together

by orphan_account



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Amazoness Quartet, Crystal Tokyo Era, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-03 02:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6593857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At Crystal Tokyo's winter ball, Princess Juno finds an unexpected ally in Princess Pluto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alone, Together

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set in Crystal Tokyo, and it follows the manga canon except where the Amazon Trio are concerned. Instead of them being killed by the senshi, Helios brought them to Elysion’s crystal forest, as in the original anime. They now serve as his guardians.

“Pallas has a _date_!”

“They aren’t _dates_ ,” Vesta told Pallas for the thousandth time as the squealing blue-haired girl wriggled into her princess gown.  “Priest Helios’s guardians are devoted to _him_ , just like _we’re_ devoted to the princess.  We don’t have time for dating.”

 “But Pallas wants someone to dance with!” the older girl huffed.  “Like Fisheye. . . .”  As she stared dreamily at her reflection in the girls’ mirror, her sisters exchanged tired glances.

“Pallas, Fisheye is. . . well, he. . . .”  Ceres fumbled for a polite way of explaining.

“He’s gay, Pallas,” Juno blurted out.

“But Pallas is gay too!” her sister squealed.  “I’m soooo happy to be going to the ball!”

Juno threw her hands in the air and groaned, “I give up.  You’re impossible.”

“I’m sure no one will mind if you dance with Fisheye,” Ceres finally consoled Pallas.

“Yay!”  Pallas smoothed down her light blue dress and turned to her sisters, beaming.  All four of the girls were dressed in their princess gowns and crystal necklaces, ready for the royal winter ball they would attend as the guardians of Princess Usagi Small Lady Serenity—or Usa as the quartet called her.

 _We’re finally ladies,_ Juno thought to herself.  Looking at Pallas, it was sort of hard to believe.

“Girls, are you ready yet?  It’s almost time for the ball to start!”  Serenity’s Mauan companion, Diana, poked her head around the door.  Dressed in a soft grey gown that matched her curly hair, Diana too looked like a young woman.  Once just a small kitten, Diana was on her way to becoming as beautiful as her mother Luna, advisor to the princess’s mother, Neo-Queen Serenity.

“We’re ready.”  Ceres smiled and took Pallas’s hand, giving it a little squeeze.  “Let’s go.”

\--

Even to Juno’s often jaded perspective, the ballroom of Crystal Tokyo Palace looked beautiful.  Although she could only catch glimpses of the older royals and their guardians from her place in the procession, Juno felt her heart beat faster with excitement and the sense of importance she got from being a part of the festivities.  She could tell that the others felt the same way; in front of Ceres, the princess was bouncing up and down on her toes.  Her long pink gown swept the floor, and her beautiful pink hair was drawn up in pointed buns which trailed ponytails reaching her knees.

“Oooh, the music’s starting!” Usa cried in a stage whisper.  She looked over her shoulder and grinned at her guardians.  “This is so _cool!_ ”

The procession began to move forward, led by Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion.  Joyful applause sounded from the ball room as they entered, followed by their trusted guardians: Princess Venus and General Kunzite, Mars and Jadeite, Jupiter and Nephrite, Mercury and Zoisite.  Behind them came Serenity’s other four guardians: mysterious Uranus and Neptune who guarded the outer solar system; Pluto who stood before the Gate of Time; and Saturn, soldier of death and rebirth.  Princess Lady Serenity followed them, escorted by Helios, priest of the dream realm Elysion.  Finally it was the Sailor Quartet’s turn, along with Helios’s three guardians: Ceres and Hawk’s Eye, Vesta and Tiger’s Eye, Pallas and Fisheye.

And then came Juno, all alone.  In her spring-green gown, she held her head high, but she was very aware that she was the only member of the court who walked without a partner.  Even those behind her walked in groups: the Maenads of Elysion, then Diana with her parents Luna and Artemis.  Juno could imagine the whispers of the other guests at the ball: “Why is that strange girl always alone?”

 _I don’t need anyone!_ Juno thought to herself.  _I don’t!_

Still, the first dance was difficult for Juno as she leaned against a column and fidgeted, watching all the royal couples before her.  Even though not all the paired guardians had romantic feelings for one another, they still enjoyed dancing together as their happy smiles showed.  Flicking across the ballroom, Juno’s peridot-colored eyes fell on Princess Jupiter as she swept across the floor on the arm of General Nephrite.

 _He **is** pretty handsome,_ Juno thought, then shook her head hard.  The last thing she wanted was to be crazy about guys like Ceres was.  _What a waste of time,_ Juno stewed. _Romance is just a distraction—how can we protect our princess if we’re preoccupied with boys?_

“They look lovely, don’t they?”  The low, husky voice startled Juno out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Princess Pluto at her side.  “Especially Saturn and Diana.”  Pluto smiled a little as she looked at the two friends happily waltzing around together.

“Yeah,” muttered Juno with little conviction as she eyed Pluto.  The guardian of the Time Gate was dressed in a long black gown with matching satin gloves that reached nearly to her shoulders.  Pluto looked stunningly beautiful—Juno had always thought she was the _most_ beautiful of all the princesses—and Juno wondered why she was alone.  Finally, she just asked: “Why aren’t _you_ dancing?”

The tall princess looked down at Juno with a kind look in her often stern maroon eyes.  “I prefer to watch from afar.  What about you, Princess Juno?”

“I don’t have anyone to dance with.”  Juno scowled and folded her arms across her chest.  She found herself rather angry at Pluto, who certainly could have had her pick of dance partners that winter evening.  _Some of us don’t have the luxury of **choosing** to sit it out_ , Juno fumed.

“I understand.  It _is_ awkward not to have an escort,” Pluto replied.  “Perhaps Priest Helios needs to find himself another guardian.”  Her delicate mouth, tinted with lipstick the same shade as her eyes, curled in a little smile, but Juno only frowned and looked the other way.

“He doesn’t need to trouble himself on _my_ account,” she growled, tossing her head back.  She heard Pluto draw in a breath as if she were about speak again, but at that moment the first dance ended, and the others surrounded them in a flurry of chatter and laughter.  Juno felt very small and out of place as everyone traded partners for the next dance.  She saw Pallas, with a dreamy expression on her face, being led out by General Zoisite ( _She has a way of picking the unavailable ones,_ Juno thought wryly), Vesta dancing with Hawk’s Eye, and Ceres flirting with a handsome young man from the crowd of guests.  Juno cast a glance toward Nephrite, but he was already dancing with a laughing Princess Neptune and fending off playful threats from Princess Uranus.

Priest Helios bowed to Neo-Queen Serenity and asked, “My queen, may I have the honor of a dance?”  The queen smiled and took his hand, gracefully ignoring the princess as she stuck her tongue out at her mother.  Then Juno caught her breath as the king himself approached the column where she and Pluto still stood.

King Endymion bowed to Princess Pluto—completely disregarding Juno—and asked, “Would you care to dance, Princess?”  When he straightened and held out his white-gloved hand, Pluto stared at it as if she didn’t know what it was.  Juno was shocked to see the pained expression in Pluto’s garnet-colored eyes.

“No, thank you, my king,” Pluto finally replied in a low voice.  “I prefer to watch.”  She didn’t sound as convincing as when she’d told Juno the same thing.  Endymion hesitated a moment, studying Pluto’s face, then withdrew his hand.

“Good evening, Princess,” he said to her with another brief bow.  As he left them to take his daughter around the dance floor, Princess Pluto watched him with a slight flush that further darkened the tan skin of her beautiful face.

“Princess Pluto?” Juno asked hesitantly.  “Are you all right?”

Pluto blinked hard, as if she were coming out of a daze, and smiled down at Juno.  “Yes, of course.”

“Why didn’t you dance with the king?”

“I. . . .”  Pluto’s smile faded as she gave the smaller girl a curious look.  “That’s rather personal, Juno.”

“Oh.  Sorry.”  Juno looked down and scuffed one of her green shoes on the floor, annoyed at herself.  _Ceres always **does** say I never know when to shut up,_ she sulked.  _But being polite, not saying what I mean, is such a waste of time!_

To Juno’s surprise, Pluto spoke to her again.  “It’s all right.  Would you like to step outside for a moment?”  When Juno raised her head, Pluto was smiling at her once more.  Feeling more relieved than she wanted to admit even to herself, Juno nodded.

She followed the tall princess in black to one of the great crystal doors that led to the palace balconies.  As they stepped through, Juno glanced over her shoulder, but no one seemed to notice their leaving.  Outside, Pluto seated herself on a wrought-iron bench and looked up at the dark sky as the light snowfall dusted her hair.  Juno sat beside her, a little in awe of being alone in the presence of such a magnificent lady.

“Sometimes,” Pluto murmured, “things happen in a strange way.  I live. . . a little outside time, I suppose you could say, and I have learned something of its movements.  Time is a wheel of birth, death, rebirth, and death again.  The silence warrior swings her glaive, and we all fall down.”  She glanced down at Juno, who was listening raptly, and smiled once more.  “But hope always dawns anew, and we are always reborn.  You are one of the new stars—you haven’t even seen one full turn of the wheel yet.  But I. . . I’ve seen them all.”

“All?” Juno demanded.  “You’ve seen all of time?”

Pluto nodded and turned her gaze back to the sky.  “I am Time’s daughter, after all.  I have not _lived_ through all time, of course—but I have lived through much, since the first Queen Serenity came to rule the moon.  What I have not lived through, I have witnessed in my visions.  I watched when the Galaxy Cauldron was created from nothing, and watched again as it gave birth to the two greatest forces in this galaxy: Cosmos and Chaos.  It was very beautiful, but also very sad, for I knew the pain they would cause one another.”

“Sailor Cosmos,” murmured Juno, remembering the mysterious soldier as if from a dream—just like her time serving Queen Nehellenia as JunJun felt like a nightmare.

“Of all the turns of the wheel of time, I’ve watched the cycles of our lives with the most interest.  And I’ve seen. . . .”  Pluto paused and took a deep breath.  “I’ve seen how things are to be.  We are all lonely stars, and we all drift towards each other.  And in every cycle, the pattern of her drifting is the same.”  Pluto turned her head to catch Juno’s eyes with her own, and held them.  “That is why I do not try to change things; it would come to no use.

“Is that why I’m always alone?” Juno blurted out.  “Because that’s how it’s meant to be?”

Pluto continued to look at her for a moment, then lifted her gloved hand to rest on Juno’s bare shoulder.  “Do you _feel_ it is what’s meant to be, Princess Juno?”

“No.”  Juno stared down at her own hands folded in her lap.  “Because I get lonely—I’m sure not as lonely as you, always by yourself at the Time Gate, but still.  My sisters get along with everyone, even Vesta with her temper.  They—they always have someone to dance with!”  Juno scowled and clenched fistfuls of her green skirt in her hands.  “But I’m not like them—I can’t fake being nice and polite like they can.  I always say just what I mean, and maybe it’s rude, but. . . but that’s how I _am_.  There’s no point in not being honest.”

“I feel the same way, Princess,” Pluto murmured, “and that is why I watch from afar and remain quiet.  I never wish to say anything untrue, but quite often, people don’t want to hear the truth.”

“Well, I do!”  Juno lifted her head and tilted her chin up defiantly.  She was surprised when Pluto’s red lips curved into a wide smile.

“Good!”  Pluto squeezed Juno’s shoulder, then let go as she stood up.  “Never lose your sense of honesty, Juno.  Not everyone can appreciate it, but it is truly something to be admired.”

Juno felt herself blush at the compliment.  As Pluto turned back to the balcony doors to go back inside, Juno wondered, _Does that mean **she** admires me?  Can someone so wise and beautiful admire a rude little nobody like me?_

Back inside the ballroom, the dancing had ended for the time being, and everyone was scattered about talking and enjoying the party food.  Pallas spotted Juno as she returned and ran over to her sister with her hands full of divinity.

“Juno!  Where were you?  Look!  Pallas has _candy_!  Want some?”

When Juno took a piece and ate it, the candy tasted so sweet, it made her head spin.  As Ceres and Vesta joined them, chattering about their dance partners, Juno cheered up in their company.  Even though she wasn’t like her sisters, each of the four girls had something different about her, something special.  And, despite all their differences, they still loved each other—and the princess they protected—with their whole hearts.

“Were you talking to Princess Pluto?” Vesta asked Juno, her own red eyes wide.  “I can’t believe it!  She’s _so_ beautiful—and I thought she never talked to anyone but Usa and the queen!”

“Yeah, we were talking.  Pluto’s pretty cool,” Juno bragged, feeling rather proud of herself.  But as she glanced over at Princess Pluto, who was standing alone once more, Juno’s ego deflated a bit.  Pluto had helped Juno feel better about herself, but Juno hadn’t done anything for her in return.  _She’s still lonely, and she doesn’t have sisters around to keep her company, like I do,_ Juno thought.  _I want to help her too. . . ._

Hours passed, and slowly the crowds thinned until only a few people were left at the ball.  Even most of the court had retired by the time the last dance was called.  Vesta and Pallas had gone back to their rooms, yawning, a few minutes before, but Ceres had stuck it out, wanting to dance with every last man she could.  Now she was happily leading an exhausted General Jadeite out onto the floor.  They were joined by Princess Lady Serenity and Priest Helios, then Fisheye and a grumbling Tiger’s Eye—although the look on the taller blond man’s face when Fisheye leaned against his shoulder undermined his griping.

Neo-Queen Serenity had retired for the evening, but King Endymion remained, and he was watching his daughter dance with a fond and proud look in his midnight-blue eyes.  Juno glanced from him to where Pluto still stood near the wall; the other green-haired princess was gazing at the king wistfully.  Juno narrowed her eyes and stomped over to her new friend, her green shoes clattering on the marble floor.

“Princess Pluto!” she hissed when she reached Pluto’s side.  “You said it’s good to be honest, right?”

“Right,” Pluto conceded, looking a little puzzled as she turned her eyes down to the shorter girl.

“Then _honestly_ , you should go dance with the king!” declared Juno.  “Quit staring at him like—like he’s a god or something, and go _dance_ with him.  You have every right to—he _asked_ you, and anyway, you’re the prettiest woman here!  He should be _honored_.”

“Princess Juno, I can’t dance with him,” Pluto murmured.

“Yes, you _can_!”  Juno grasped Pluto’s hand and tried to forcefully drag her out into the open.  “Sometimes it’s good to let fate take its course—but sometimes it’s _better_ to give fate the finger!”

“Juno. . . .”  Pluto looked down at her with a bewildered little smile; then her long fingers closed over Juno’s small hand.  “Princess.  Do you think our lives will always be the same, in each turn of the wheel?  Could there be a future I’ve missed?”

Juno looked down at their clasped hands and flushed.  “I’m not the one who’s the soldier of time, but I think the future can _always_ be changed,” she declared.  “When the king and queen were threatened in the twentieth century, Usa disappeared—that shows that the future would have changed if they hadn’t been reborn.  She never would have existed.  So if the future can change to make bad things happen. . . there’s no reason it can’t change in good ways, too.”  Juno took a deep breath and blinked.  “Wow, I sound like Pallas.  Usually she’s the one who reasons things out in weird ways.”  When Juno finally raised her head, Pluto was still looking down at her, but her maroon eyes were warm now.

“You know, it was Sailor Saturn who realized the true identify of you four girls,” Pluto said.  “Even though I knew Princess Lady Serenity would be guarded by the Sailor Quartet who drew upon the powers of the asteroids, I didn’t recognize you in the past.  The beautiful glow of your star seeds was hidden by the darkness that embraced you then, and I overlooked it.  So maybe I have overlooked other things as well.  Perhaps I have been looking so hard for what I expected to find, I’ve missed the unexpected. . . like my happiness.”

As her husky voice faded, the last dance of the evening ended as well.  Juno glared up at the other princess in frustration.  “Pluto!  You missed your chance to dance with him!”

But Princess Pluto just smiled.  “I’d rather talk to you.”  She let go of Juno’s hand and raised her own to the younger girl’s cheek, brushing it with her fingertips.  Juno could feel the warmth of her hand even through the glove she wore.  “Good night, princess.”

Staring up at Pluto, Juno realized that their skin, darker than that of the other princesses, was almost the same shade; and where the light hit Pluto’s hair, it glistened with the same tints of green as Juno’s.  _In a way,_ Juno thought, amazed, _I look like her._

Juno’s cheek burned as Pluto turned away to follow the last of the guests out of the hall.  Although she felt paralyzed for a moment, Juno managed to shake it off, and she clattered after Pluto in her awkward shoes.  “Pluto, wait up!  Where are you going—back to the Time Gate?”

Pluto paused to let her catch up.  “Yes.  It has not been completely unattended; a few trusted soldiers of the queen are there now.  But I have already been away too long.”

They walked out of the ballroom into the shadowy hallway where several corridors of the castle met.  Juno looked down the one which she knew led to the Time Gate, the corridor no one but Pluto and the queen was allowed to traverse (though of course that had never stopped Princess Lady Serenity).

“Do you have to go?” Juno muttered.

“Yes, Princess, I must.”  Pluto started to walk down the corridor toward her lonely post at the Time Gate, but then she hesitated and turned back to look at Juno.  “Juno. . . I enjoyed talking with you.  Please come to see me someday.  I know it isn’t supposed to be allowed, but. . . .”

Juno felt herself break into an unusually bright smile as Pluto trailed off.  “But when have _I_ ever been one to follow the rules?”

When Juno returned to the room she shared with Vesta, the red-haired girl was already in bed, asleep.  Juno quietly changed into her pajamas and slipped into her own bed.  Maybe she’d still be the strange girl in green, always alone at the royal functions, but she thought, _Being alone isn’t so bad when you have someone to be alone with._

\--

The End


End file.
